Stark Craft Beer: Crafting a Distinctive Brewery Experience

Stark brewery brews Stark Craft Beers and 1945 Craft Pilsner and is the first craft beer brewery in Indonesia. In 2010, two well-travelled beer enthusiasts, Bona Budhisurya and Jacob Suryanata, who were wildly passionate about beers, had enough of the bland, commercial, mass-produced beers in Indonesia, and decided to set up their own brewery and only after surveying, purchasing and tapping into a pure spring water source 1km beneath the brewery in North Bali.

And, their mission was to introduce craft beers that are innovative, great-tasting and of superb quality that can also compete on the world stage to Indonesians. That's how Stark was incubated and born. In German, 'Stark' means 'Strong', and hence the name of the brand expresses the strong vision of the company in becoming the preferred beer in Indonesia with international recognition.

Today, Stark Craft Beer employs over 60 professionals in Bali and Jakarta focused on brewing, marketing, operations, logistics, sales and shipping. Annually, the brewery produces over 6.000 Hectolitres of beer across all variants.

The brewery has focused on creating truly unique, tropical craft beers which captures the flavours of Bali such as their award-winning Lychee Ale, Mango Ale, an Indonesian-styled Pale Ale with aromatics, and spices from around the archipelago, using pure Balinese mountain spring water and the best quality malt, and hops from around the world. Stark Craft Beers are available in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and beyond.

For Stark, the ability to export is critical to the business as the domestic market remains limited. For export, a packaging solution that is versatile enough to withstand the challenging geography in Indonesia and South East Asia is vital. And for a brewery that has made it its mission to educate drinkers about the virtues of premium quality and unique beer, ensuring it arrives in the very best condition is a given.

"The packaging stability, the ability of the keg to survive gruelling weather and transportation conditions necessitates sourcing for a solution that is reliable, durable, and is fit for travel."

Bona Budhisurya, Stark Brewery Founder & President-Director

Stark has opted for USD Petainer kegs because of their proven credentials when it comes to protecting the quality of the beer VLB tests show that after nine months the taste of the beer hasn't changed and is on par with beer stored in steel kegs. They are also compatible with existing filling lines, lower cost than steel kegs and compatible with dispensing systems in retail outlets. This is an important point, as outlets are looking to serve the freshest possible beer from kegs that also require little to no maintenance, or intervention, according to Stark Craft Beer's Singapore importer, and distributor, Lyndsey Lam. For Stark, the technical support Petainer offers means that they have the reassurance that if a problem does occur, there's a team of brewery experts on hand to solve any issues quickly.